Pharmacists vital to our health care

The role of pharmacists in our health is greatly underestimated and misunderstood.

I am one of the lucky people on the Coast; I have a great doctor. He knows me and my medical history, and he’s always there when my health takes a southern turn.

I am also fortunate that the pharmacists at PharmaSave, in Sechelt, know and understand my health history. I consider my pharmacists a key element in my health care equation.

But, I fear, pharmacists are getting a bad hand. I sense that they are viewed as mere drug dispensers — just the guys in lab coats who count pills.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the continuum of care — from the acute diagnosis, to ongoing care, to recovery — it is always the pharmacist who is at the end of things. He or she is the person who looks you in the eye and says, “Here is your medication, and listen while I describe how you should take care with it.”

I rely on my pharmacist to understand my health issues and to give me advice.

It is my sincere belief that pharmacists ought to be taken more seriously by our medical culture.

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